


A Sharp Blade

by Lk_Xiom



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri.
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:48:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23288026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lk_Xiom/pseuds/Lk_Xiom
Summary: When someone from the first adventure starts hanging around the new kids, the original seven try to push past their trauma to protect their new members, though that's easier said than done, when the person in question isn't a Digimon, but possesses powers that couldn't possibly be human.And now that he's back, he intends to make the older kids' life a living hell, with a particular obsession with Jou Kido
Relationships: Ishida Yamato / Takenouchi Sora (background), Kido Jou | Joe Kido / OMC, Kido Jou | Joe Kido / Orignal Character, Kido Jou | Joe Kido/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya
Kudos: 5





	1. Got A Secret Can You Keep It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically a brief summary on who this 'mystery' person is, and what happened to the kids. Quite dark, but doesn't describe the act of abuse or rape

You wouldn't think it to look at these kids, but they bear many many scars. Both mental and physical. The new generation of Chosen, they're very brave, yes, and the threat they faced was very real. But they don't have any scars, not yet. Well, apart from Ken, but that's a whole other thing. 

You see, the Digital World is a dangerous place. Monsters, attacks, dangerous landscapes and toxic plants. They warned the new kids all about these horrors, and they continue to show up everyday, so for that, the older kids respected their bravery. 

But they never told them about their worst experience in the Digital World. They could never bring themselves to do it. Hikari hadn't joined the team when this happened. And they didn't want Takeru to be the one to have to talk to them about it. As it was, Taichi didn't want Hikari to know about him unless it was absolutely necessary. 

They figured there was no point, not really. If he was following his old routine, then they would most likely hear about it before anything could happen. 

The Digital World is a dangerous place, but it's most dangerous host was a human being. 

At least, they think he's human. He called himself Blade, and shortly after they arrived on Server, he showed up. He claimed he was like them, a Chosen Child, but had lost his partner. He promised to help them defeat Etemon, once his partner was found. He was mangy, his clothes were ragged and he stank, but the kids weren't exactly in any better shape. He had scratchy stubble, had sharpened a rock to use as a razor but it clearly never worked right. He had brown hair, long enough to drape by his elbows, though he tied it back with a pony tail. 

He was easy to trust. He was the only human adult they had come across. After a mere week of following him around, they had grown to love him. He was fun, playful, taught them valuable survival lessons. He charismatic, and had the seven kids eating out of the palm of his hand. Jou in particular was the most enthusiastic about him, finally having someone to lift Jou's ridiculous sense of responsibility from him. Anyone else would've been driven crazy by Jou's constant pestering, but Blade didn't seem to mind. 

One morning, they woke up to find Blade was gone, Mimi too. Palmon was still here, freaking out over where Mimi had gone. Something must have happened, something bad must have happened to Mimi and Blade when they were asleep. It had to have been Etemon. What else could it have been? A few days later, they found Mimi unconscious on a pile of leaves. 

And she was covered in her own blood. 

They left Sora to look afer cleaning her up. Taichi didn't really want to leave such a grueling task to her, but he also didn't want to hurt Mimi's feeling by seeing her indecent (again). Mimi woke up in her underwear, on a riverbank, Sora's gentle, motherly hands washing her shoulders. She broke down, crying out in hysteria what had happened. 

It was Blade. He had kept her in some cell. There was no light, it was cold, and there was no bed, only a slab of wood for her to sleep on. She told Sora how Blade had beat her, over and over, and when that wasn't enough for him, he brought a knife. 

"I asked him why he was doing this," She sobbed. "He just said he liked it," 

By the time Sora washed away all the blood, Mimi was all cried out. Sora hugged her, gently so as not to hurt her. She tried to be as comforting as possible. She brought Mimi back, told Jou to look after her cuts. Mimi retold what happened, this time less hysterical from shock. Taichi immediately jumped to finding him, to making him pay for what he did to Mimi. Yamato shared Taichi's anger, but argued that Taichi was not thinking rationally. The others pitched in their opinions until everyone but Mimi and Takeru were yelling at each other over what to do. 

Eventually, Taichi fell to his knees infront of Mimi. "I am so sorry," He said. "I am so sorry I didn't protect you," 

Mimi was tired. She was so tired, so she just pat Taichi's hand that was clutching the dirt. She didn't have the energy to argue with him. The next two days, they were on high alert. What if Blade came back? And why did he take Mimi? What if he wanted to hurt her again? Or take the others?

Palmon made the decision to sleep during the day, and stay awake at night. She refused to take no for an answer. Jou offered to carry her while she slept, though with the amount of pain Mimi was in, they were not likely to move anyway. For those two days, they stayed put, waiting for Mimi to heal. 

On the third morning, they woke to find Palmon bleeding from the head, and Koushiro missing. Jou looked after Palmon while Mimi wailed. More arguing, more panic, Sora ended up slapping Taichi to prevent him from Digivolving Agumon and rampaging across the Digital World to find Blade. When Palmon woke up, she cried about how it was her fault. 

The Digimon spoke together and agreed to take shifts with the night watch. Four will stay up one night, and the other four (Tentomon insisting to stay up every night like Palmon had) will take over the next night. That way they won't be vulnerable during the day either. 

Just like with Mimi, they found Koushiro on a pile of bloodied leaves. This time, Taichi wanted to look after Koushiro. Jou insisted on helping. 

There were cuts on Koushiro's small body, just like with Mimi, but where Mimi had bruises, Koushiro didn't. Instead, he had red, angry patches of skin, the skin peeling from around the burns. Boiling water, they concluded. When Koushiro woke up, he sobbed and refused to get out of the river. The cold water felt so reliving on his burnt skin, even if the salt from the water stung the open cuts. Eventually, Jou hauled him out of the water and patched up the wounds. Taichi filled up their water bottles and gave them to Koushiro to hold against the burns. 

"Jou, I know you're tired from looking after them, but do you think you and Gomamon have enough energy to evolve?" 

"Yeah, why?" 

"We have to move," Taichi said. "We can't stay here, we can't. Ikkakumon should be big enough to carry Mimi and Koushiro, right?"

"I can walk," Koushiro argued. 

"He is," Jou said, ignoring Koushiro. "He can probably take the other Digimon too," 

They loaded up the Mimi, Koushiro, and the sleeping Digimon onto Ikkakumon and began to walk. It was slow progress, as they didn't want Ikkakumon to jostle the others, but they managed to move quite a bit away. Mimi and Koushiro were both laying on their backs. Mimi noticed the way Koushiro was fanning his burns, so she took off her hat to help. 

Those next couple days, Yamato kept a tight hold on Takeru almost constantly. Takeru was scared, so didn't complain, but being so close to his brother all the time annoyed him. After two days of walking, Takeru decided he was going to tell Yamato that he wanted him to leave him alone for a bit. 

That next morning, Yamato was gone. 

The pattern repeated. Yamato came back with burns just like Koushiro's, and some other kind of red marks. Stripey, red lines, some bleeding. He had beaten Yamato with some kind of leather strap, like a whip, but shorter and thicker. 

Then Sora was taken, and she came back with the whip marks, and tiny, black dots littering her body. Mimi and Koushiro were well enough to walk by then, so Mimi returned the favour and bathed Sora. 

The black dots were some kind of electric prod. 

They had figured out the pattern of days, but now they figured out the way Blade was hurting them. He would do two things only, and carry one method on to the next person. They knew whoever would be taken next would be electrocuted, and then have something new. 

Jou was so tired. Not only was he running around after the others, making sure their wounds weren't getting infected (Yamato's almost had!) but he also had Ikkakumon still being used as a gurney sapping his energy. Not to mention the fear of being taken himself. They didn't know what Blade was, or how he was managing to over power the Digimon every time he striked, they had no idea how to avoid him, how to stop him. 

When fetching water for Yamato to hold against his almost healed burns, Jou took a moment to crouch there and just... growl in frustration. He couldn't let the others know how much this was getting to him, he needs to be strong for them, they need him right now.

Taichi saw him, and apologised for how much stress he was putting Jou under. Jou could see how much Taichi was blaming himself for everything that was happening. Taichi was good at fighting, but how can you fight something that you can't see? How can you protect the ones you love against something that you can't face yourself? 

When Taichi came back after being taken, he was bruised and beaten, just like Mimi, and had the scorch marks like Sora. It's okay Taichi, Jou had thought when he was cleaning him. It's okay, I'll be strong for you. 

With only Taichi and Sora on their backs, the others were practically forming a human shield around around Takeru. Jou was terrified, of course he was, he didn't want to face Blade, not after seeing what he'd done to his friends, but the only thing worse than that fear, was the fear of any of that happening to Takeru. 

Too much had already happened to him. 

Blade was never on point, he varied the day he took the kids by a day or two. And Jou struggled to sleep the two nights that had been predicted someone be taken. He kept his eyes trained on Mimi's back, for she had wrapped her arms around Takeru, Yamato on the otherside. They'd form a fort around Takeru if they could, but the boy was already complaining about suffocation as it was. 

If it hadn't been for Jou's struggle to sleep, he might not have found out Blade's terrifying and powerful trick that had made him elusive for so long. 

Everything around him fell deathly silent. It took Jou a moment to realise this. The usual rustling of leaves and crackling fire was gone. Jou looked up from where he was lying, noticing that the fire hadn't gone out. 

No, but it was... frozen. The fire was completely still, the light that usually emanates from it now static. It looked fake, like a painting. He glanced around. Mimi's body was moving ever so slightly. She's breathing. Good. 

Gomamon, the little seal who was on day shift today, curled up beside him, was not. 

None of the Digimon were moving. 

Jou didn't have enough time to panic over this though, as he heard a twig snap in front of him. His head whipped around, he saw Blade standing there, in the middle of their little camp. He was leering over Mimi, over Takeru. 

"D-don't," Jou said, his voice so squeaky and silent that he could hardly hear himself. Blade swiveled his head around to look at Jou. 

"Don't touch him," Jou said, clearer this time. 

"I wasn't going to," Blade said, stepping towards Jou. "You said he was eight, right? Yeah, that's too young for me," 

Blade clicked his fingers, and Jou's vision went black. 

Jou slowly came to, feeling nauseous and warm. His arms were tied above his head and he noticed very quickly that he was shirtless. He heard the bed he was on creak, and Blade leaned over him. Jou tensed up, feeling his heart constrict in his chest. 

In the daylight, Jou was able to notice the subtle difference in Blade. He was clean shaven, his hair was washed and tied back neatly, he no longer smelled of sweat and grit. 

Blade brought his hand up to the side of Jou's face, and gently rubbed his thumb over Jou's cheek. "I missed you so much, Kido," 

This man, who Jou had come to trust, and respect, and admire, had not only betrayed them all, but had hurt his friends in such horrible, ugly ways. He hadn't seen Blade since he had taken Mimi, over a month ago. And all the memories of Blade teaching the kids the different kind of trees there were, what berries were good to eat, how to make proper drinking water, of telling funny stories, and goofing around, they were all bubbling to the surface, and they filled Jou with such hatred. 

Jou kicked out, managing to land a weak hit in Blade's chest. Blade huffed, and grabbed Jou's legs, pinning him to the bed. Blade tutted. "Oh, Kido, don't be like that," 

Blade climbed onto the bed, gently lowering himself to lean over Jou and pin his legs down at the same time. 

Wait... a bed? The others said they only had a slab of wood to sleep on... and they said they were in a dark cell, but, there's window right there. 

Blade ran his nails over Jou's thigh. He was still wearing his shorts, though the legs had hitched up and exposed his thighs. Blade began to knead his thumb into the flesh of Jou's leg, and Jou began to shake. 

"Wha-what are you goi-ing to do to me?" Jou asked, his jaw trembling. Blade growled low in his throat, and pulled his shirt off. 

"Something you're not gonna like. Not at first," Blade threw his shirt to the side, and lowered himself down so that he was a nose's breadth away from Jou. "If you're good though, I'll make you feel good too. I don't want to hurt you, not like I did to the others," 

Blade shifted Jou's legs to wrap around his waist, and Blade ground his hips against him. "I left you until last for a reason you know," Blade slowly caressed his hand down Jou's chest, and Jou began to dry sob. Blade lowered his lips down to Jou's hear, kissing his jaw and grinding against him more. He groaned, low and deep. 

"You are so sexy," 

When everyone found Jou, they were confused to see that he wasn't bleeding, or bruised, or appear to be hurt in anyway. 

Koushiro brought up the idea that whatever to Jou must have been psychological, which only made them fear more. Yamato decided to be the one to look over Jou, in case there was any injuries covered by his clothes. He had only managed to get Jou's shirt unbuttoned when Jou woke up. Jou lurched forward, grabbing the shirt away from Yamato. He held the shirt close to his chest.

"Ah, Jou..." He said. "You... I'm sorry. Are you ok?" 

Jou didn't answer for a moment, but then nodded. 

"Really? You're not hurt anywhere?" 

Jou shook his head. Yamato felt uneasy, Koushiro's mention of 'psychological torture' becoming increasingly likely, and Yamato didn't know how to feel about it. 

"What... Jou, what happened?"

Jou just shook his head. 

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" 

Jou didn't say anything. Yamato grit his teeth. "Jou, please, talk to me," 

Jou shook his head. 

And he didn't. For the next month that they were in the Digital World, Jou didn't open his mouth. Of course everyone was worried, they had no idea what the hell Blade had done to him, but he jumped when someone touched, refused to speak and for the first couple days after he had come back, was barely able to keep any food he ate down. 

Blade never showed up again. Jou knew he should've mentioned what Blade said about Takeru to someone, but he just... couldn't bring himself to say anything. It was like he screamed his voice away. 

It was only when Taichi disappeared after fighting Etemon, did Jou finally begin to speak. Everyone was so shocked over what happened to Taichi, so while people did notice, they weren't as... happy, as they wanted to be. Even then, he only spoke when he needed to, and his voice was still quiet. The only time it was brought up was from Taichi, when he found Jou and Yamato at the restaurant. 

Over time, Jou slowly began to talk more and more, to the point that when Hikari first joined, she assumed he was just shy. When everything was over, and they returned home after defeating Apocalymon, Taichi invited the older five kids around to his house when Hikari was over at Takeru's. 

That was when he brought up Blade again, for the first time since he had disappeared. Jou initially panicked, thinking everyone was going to pressure him to telling them what happened. Instead, Taichi asked for their opinion on telling Hikari. 

"We don't know if he'll show up again," Taichi said. "But I... it's up to all of you if you want her to know or not," 

"You're her brother, Taichi," Sora said. "That decision is up to you," 

"I want this to be everyone's say," Taichi said. "I don't want to take away your chance to... to tell her, or talk about it," 

"Don't tell her," Yamato said. "Takeru still saw what happened to us, even if Blade didn't attack him. I don't think telling Hikari is a good idea," 

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Taichi sighed. "Okay... thanks guys," 

It was hard at first, but life moves on. They of course still thought about the Digimon, and still had their trips to the Digital World, but soon the kids had adjusted to real life again. And no one would have known this to look at him, but Taichi was actually a huge movie buff. He really enjoyed sitting down and watching films, good, classic films that get you really invested in the plot and the characters. Any film they got assigned in class, chances are, Taichi had already seen it. 

It was something he and Jou had in common, actually. The others weren't really as enthusiastic about it, I mean, sure, everyone loves a good movie, but to really sit and talk about the movie afterward for hours on end? Koushiro much preferred reading anyway. In his words, he doesn't like "How long it takes actors to say their lines for ~dramatic effect~," Mimi usually didn't want to watch the films they pick out, and Sora and Yamato tend to get bored anyway. 

So, every couple of weeks, either Jou or Taichi would suggest a movie to watch, and they would watch it together. 

Almost a two year had passed since that August day. Taichi was 12 now. He didn't really want to think about how he was technically two months older than the calendar says he is, or how the other were another two months older than him. 

Taichi picked out the movie this time, and they stayed at Jou's house. He was alone for the weekend, Shin had moved out recently, and Shuu was visiting Jou's aunt with his parents. Jou allergies had been acting up the day before, so they decided to leave Jou be. Jou was apprehensive about watching a film that was rated 16+, but Taichi waved off his concerns saying they weren't like normal kids. 

They played the previews as they both made food and drinks, so they didn't see the disclaimer warning. And since it was such a minor scene, it wasn't mentioned in the summary of the film. So how the hell were they supposed to prepare for a rape scene? 

Taichi immediately felt uncomfortable when the scene started, and tried to subtly look away. He glanced down at the couch, and noticed the way the cushion was trembling slightly. He looked up beside him to see Jou shaking. 

Taichi cursed and lept to his feet, grabbing onto Jou's shoulders. "Jou? Jou?! Wh-what's going on- are you ok?" 

He wasn't breathing and his jaw was shaking so much that his teeth were clattering together. He was having a panic attack. 

Taichi placed his hands over Jou's face, forcing Jou to look at him. Jou had had a panic attack a couple of times before, so Taichi looked up what to do in that situation. 

"Hey, hey it's okay look at me, okay? Just look at me," 

Jou nodded, and gasped for air, but he was still panicking. Taichi moved his hands down to Jou's hands. "Listen to me, breath with me, okay? In, and out," 

Jou listened, slowing his breathing down to match Taichi's. Soon, Jou's breathing returned to normal, and he was looking down at his hands. "Hey, are you ok? Do you want a drink?" 

Jou didn't answer. He got up from his seat, and went to the kitchen. 

Taichi glanced behind him, the TV now on a court room scene. Taichi followed Jou into the kitchen, to see Jou filling up a glass of water. 

"Are you feeling ok now?"

Jou didn't answer. 

"... Jou?" 

Jou placed the water on the counter without a word. 

"Oh come on Jou don't do this again!" Taichi yelled. "Don't just shut down on me!" 

Jou slammed his hands down on the counter, causing Taichi to jump. Jou's arms were shaking. 

It took a moment for Jou to calm down again, and Taichi decided to keep quiet while he did. Jou turned his back to the cabinets and slid down to the floor, bringing his knees up to his chest. Silently, Taichi sat down beside him. 

"It... Jou, this is about... what happened to you, isn't it? With Blade?" 

Jou lowered his face into his arms. 

"Please don't stop talking again," Taichi said. "... Jou-"

"Yes," Jou said. "Yes, it..." 

Jou lifted his head again. There were silent tears streaming down his face. "He raped me. He... he raped me," Jou started to sob, quietly, and weakly. Taichi gently shifted Jou's shoulders, so that his head fell onto Taichi's shoulder. The two sat there for the whole rest of the movie, even when Jou's tears had long since dried. 

When the new kids started going to the Digital World, and with them being the only ones who could Digivolve, Taichi called around another talk about Blade, this time, Takeru was included. 

"I don't know," Takeru said. "He didn't hurt me, so-" 

"Yes he did," Yamato said. "You shouldn't have had to see that. You know just how dangerous he is," 

Takeru scratched at his arm. "I... no, I don't think we should tell them, not yet," 

"If the time comes, then yes. But I see no reason to tell them now," Koushiro said. He was wearing a T-shirt, cotton, and the scars were still visible on his arms, if they were hard to see at first. They were pale now, so faint that you could only see them if you knew what you were looking for. 

That was true for most of them. Sora only had one scar, from a particularly deep whip wound on her back, Mimi was littered in scars, Yamato's skin was as blotchy as Koushiro's, and Taichi had several small indents in his skin from the prod, as well as his pinky finger being bent at a weird angle. 

Jou was the only one to bear no visible scars.


	2. Slippery Slope

It was a few days after the Diaboromon attack. The city was in repair, and the kids wanted nothing more than to just chill for a couple of days.

They younger crew were over at Koushiro's, as Koushiro was still trying to see if there was any remnant of Diaboromon left on the internet for him to return. The other kids were there in case they were needed, and they also wanted to go to the Digital World when Koushiro was done. 

Still, Tentomon was nice enough to bake some muffins for everyone. He had been learning how to bake from Koushiro's Mom, and this was his first time baking by himself. Worst case scenario, the baby Digimon get some treats. 

Ken, Daisuke, Hikari and Takeru were sat in the living room, talking, while Miyako and Iori were in Koushiro's room with him. Miyako wanted to observe Koushiro working, to maybe try and learn something, whereas Iori just wanted to keep the two company. Iori was sat on Koushiro's bed, playing with Poromon and Upamon. 

"Have you been in contact with Wallace lately?" Miyako asked. 

"We've kept in contact. I told him about the attack, and I'm keeping him updated. He told me he's keeping an eye on things too, which is helpful," 

"I think we should visit him again," Miyako said. "And Mimi too. I haven't seen he in a while either," 

"I'm sure she'll be glad to hear from you," Koushiro said with a small smile. Miyako squealed a the idea of Mimi being happy to see her. 

The oven beeped, and Koushiro decided to ignore it at first, assuming Tentomon was dealing with it. However, after about a minute of the beep continuing, Koushiro got up from his seat. 

"Tentomon? Are you okay?" Koushiro walked into the kitchen to see Tentomon struggling to open the oven door. 

Tentomon let go and sighed. "Ms. Kae usually did this," 

Koushiro chuckled and crouched down. "Here, I'll take them out," 

Koushiro lazily threw a tea-towel over his hands before pulling out the tray, but wasn't careful enough to prevent himself from hitting his ring finger off the oven rack below the tray. The burn wasn't deep, wasn't that harsh and barely touched him for more than a second, but Koushiro screeched like a banshee. He threw himself backwards, the tray of muffins toppling to the floor and his head hitting the cabinet behind him. 

Koushiro vaguely heard Tentomon call out his name in worry, but the sound was warped, hard to hear over the sound of hissing water, over the feeling of skin blistering. Koushiro crushed his burnt finger into his chest and keeled over, his breath coming out in shirt huffs. 

The rest of the kids heard the scream and came rushing over, Daisuke and Miyako immediately crouching down in front of him and trying to shake him out of his thoughts. 

Takeru pushed through the two of them. "Stop it, you need to back up a bit and let him breath!" 

Miyako blinked at him, but moved back away from Koushiro. After pouting at Takeru, Daisuke did too. 

Takeru pulled back too, letting Tentomon take the lead in comforting Koushiro. He didn't say anything, put placed his two mandibles on Koushiro's shoulders. Koushiro opened his eyes with a blink, sucking in a deep breath and looking up at Tentomon. 

"Are you back with us Koushiro?" Tentomon asked. 

Koushiro sat up straight, and nodded, his breathing beginning to slow down. He looked up at the other kids, and his cheeks began to turn red. "Uh, sorry about that. I overreacted," 

"Hey, are you ok?" Daisuke cocked his head. 

"Fine," Koushiro stood up and shoved his finger under the sink tap. 

"Can we eat the muffins?" Asked Upamon, hopping on a counter. Iori snatched Upamon off the counter and shushed him. 

Takeru leaned over to Miyako. "Hey, Miyako, do you mind taking everyone to the Digital World? I'll catch up in a bit," 

"Uh, sure, okay," Miyako said. "We'll be back soon then," 

Takeru turned pleading eyes to the rest of the group, who all followed Miyako to Koushiro's bedroom. 

"You too, Hikari," Takeru said when she didn't move. 

"Huh?" Hikari said. 

"Please?" He said. 

Hikari furrowed her eyebrows at him, before giving Koushiro a quick goodbye and following her friends. Tailmon looked up at Patamon, to see if he gave any indication of knowing what was up, but Patamon pretended not to notice. 

When they left, Koushiro turned off the tap. "You don't have to stay here you know," 

"I know," Takeru said, jumping up to sit on the counter. "But I want to,"

Kousiro fetched an ice cube from his freezer and wrapped in the tea-towel. When he turned around to face Takeru, his face was bright red. "I shouldn't have screamed like that. It was too dramatic," 

Takeru cocked his head. "Since when do you care when something's dramatic? It's fine, everyone is just worried that you hurt yourself, that's all," 

Koushiro sighed, trying to find the right way to wrap his hand in the towel. 

"Koushiro is too hard on himself sometimes," Tentomon said, causing Koushiro to huff. 

"I am not," 

"Are too," Patamon chipped in. 

"Am not!"

"Then don't be so embarrassed. Same thing happens with Oniichan when he cooks. Kind of. He's even less likely to show vulnerability than you are,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Takeru chuckled. "It was supposed to be a compliment! But, my point is... it's okay, when this happens," 

Koushiro's lip curled in a snarl, and he turned his head away. "No it's not. I don't want to remember that. I don't... I don't want the tiniest little thing to make me so... you know what I mean," 

Takeru didn't say anything. 

"Look, Takeru, I'm fine, okay? You should go to the Digital World with the others, before they worry even more," 

Takeru wanted to stay, just a little while, just to make double sure that Koushiro was indeed alright, but the others were waiting. And it was obvious that Koushiro wasn't exactly comfortable with them knowing. So, he hopped off the counter. 

"We'll be back soon, okay?" 

Koushiro nodded. 

When Takeru jumped into the Digital World with Patamon on his shoulder, Daisuke was waving his hands above his head and yelling incoherently. Miyako gestured her head towards Takeru, and Daisuke turned around. 

"Oh, hey," Daisuke dropped his hands. 

"Is Koushiro alright?" Ken asked. 

"I've never seen him so panicked before," Iori stated. 

"Uh, yeah," Takeru said, scratching the back of his neck. "When he was a kid, he accidentally dropped a kettle on himself, and it was a pretty bad burn. I guess that's what it was," 

Takeru hated lying to them, but at least there was a nugget of truth in there. Patamon held his head close to Takeru's neck. He had a similar aversion to lying, particularly to their friends. 

"And, um, I'm sorry for yelling at you two earlier," Takeru said. "I just uh, I knew what was wrong and overreacted too," 

"It's okay," Miyako said, but her tone was dull and a little miffed. "You were just worried about Koushiro, right?"

"Y-yeah," Takeru said. 

Daisuke huffed. "Yeah, it's fine," 

Takeru decided not to take offence from Daisuke's cold tone, as he usually held that type of tone for Takeru anyway. 

"Why don't we forget about it, huh?" Hikari said. "We've got a busy day, remember?"

"Right, the house!" Daisuke cheered. Well, in times of need, count on Daisuke's lack of an attention span. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Let's go, let's go!" Veemon chanted. 

The younger kids were building a sort of clubhouse, hideaway, official Digital World headquarters kind of thing. They weren't exactly great architects, but they had help from other Digimon who had experience building houses. They planned on giving everyone their own room, making a kitchen and large living room, a large office for the tech kids to work in that would double as a meeting room, as well as a large garden patio for them to have picnics. 

The only ones who knew about the house were the younger six, and all of the Digimon.

They decided to build close to a large lake, Gomamon's idea. They debated on whether or not to let Yamato and Sora share a room, considering they were dating. Takeru was of course, very uncomfortable with that particular conversation, so they decided that they would have seperate rooms, but, right next to each other. And it was Ken's idea for the house to be traditional style, though Daisuke insisted on at least having some modern furniture. 

They were no were near the furniture stage, of course. They had only just finished the basic framework, and even then, they weren't sure how secure it was. They had already started over three times. 

Still, this was the best they could do. So, they set to work on the foundations. Stingmon and Shurimon cut down trees, Nefertimon and Pegasusmon were the workhorses carrying loads, ExVeemon cut the trees while the kids actually did all the building. Miyako had her hair tied into a tight bun, and after Ken's hair got glued to a plank of wood, tied his back too. 

Iori and Digmon, on the other hand, were tasked with breaking down rocks. They needed them for the kitchen, bathroom and patio. Iori was fine with this, he was actually quite happy to have such an important job left up to him, even if right now was just looking for any kind of rocks. 

"I suppose marble would be best, right?" Iori asked from on top of Digmon's shoulders. He was kind of hard to it on, one because of the armor plating, and two because of how broad his shoulders actually were. But, Iori was able to find a groove in the armor plating that made it easier for him to keep his balance. "Or granite?" 

"I know marble exists in the Digital World, I don't know about granite though," Digmon replied. 

"Marble it is then," Iori nodded. The path they were walking on began to climb upwards, a little steeper than they had expected, and Iori felt the ever so slight strain on Digmon from the tensing shoulder muscles beneath the armor. "We shouldn't wander too far from the others either, just in case," 

It wasn't long before they came to a clearing on top of a cliff, the afternoon sun shining brightly on a village far below them. "Wow," Iori whispered. "I didn't know this was here. It's so pretty," 

Iori leaned forward slightly, to try and get a better view. He knew he'd been to this village before, it looked familiar...

"Hey Digmon, I think that's the Floramon village, isn't it?" He asked. When Digmon didn't reply, Iori looked down at his Digimon. "Hm? Digmon?" 

Digmon was completely still. Iori leaned down a little more, and tilted to the side to look into Digmon's eyes. Digmon stared out at the village, eyes unmoving. "Digmon? What's wro-"

Iori felt a force push his shoulder hard enough for him to lose his balance on top of Digmon. Iori yelp and slipped, his hands flying out to grab onto anything. He managed to wrap his hands around Digmon's nose, though the sharp edges of this drill pressed into his palms, threatening to cut it. Iori tried to hold on, but the smooth metal drill made it difficult. His hand slipped, and slipped again, and his legs flailed wildly. "Digmon! Digmon help!" 

Digmon didn't respond. Iori didn't know what had gotten into his Digimon, maybe something like the flute that Arukenimon had? But whatever it was, Iori was now dangling over a cliff with nothing but a sharp blade to hold onto. 

He felt a sharp pain in his hand, and looked up to see blood begin to drip from his hands. This was bad, this was really bad. 

Iori started to kick his legs towards Digmon. "Digmon, wake up! Please, I'm- I'm gonna fall!"

Iori's hand slipped, and before he could re position it, the other slipped too. Iori screamed, but was cut off by hitting something hard. He landed awkwardly on his foot, collapsing onto the hard rock face. His cheek scrapped the jagged rock, and he felt his hands press into the dirt. He groaned in pain and rolled onto his side with gritted teeth. 

He had landed on an undercliff, a piece of rock that was jutting out. It felt sturdy enough, when Iori climbed up onto all fours. He hissed, feeling gravel scrape into his already cut up hands. When he tried to sit on his haunches, he cried out in pain from his ankle. So he rolled over into a sitting position. He could barely move his foot without feeling a sharp pain stab his ankle, and from the look on his hands, he had more cuts than he thought. There was one that looked particularly deep, but the rest were no bigger than most paper cuts. 

"Iori!" He heard Digmon call out. "Iori where are you!?" 

"I'm down here!" He called back. Digmon peered over the edge of the cliff, and saw Iori on the precipice. 

"Oh no Iori! What happened?" 

Iori took in a deep breath to calm himself down. His arms were shaking, and his heartbeat was rattling in his chest so hard it was painful. "I-I fell," 

"How!? You were on my head just a moment ago!"

"I don't know!" Iori said. He'll leave the frozen Digmon til later, right now he was in a lot of pain. "Digmon, I think I twisted my ankle. I can't move!"

Digmon started to panic. He cursed himself for not being able to fly in any of his forms. Despite having wings, he himself was too heavy to use them. "Hold on Iori, I'll get you out!"

Iori grit his teeth and rubbed at his sore ankle. He had no idea if he was doing anything to relieve the pain though. "Digmon, you have to go back to the others. You can't fly," 

"I don't want to leave you," 

"I left my D-Terminal at the camp," Iori explained. "You have to get someone," 

Iori barely heard Digmon whine in indignation. "Okay, I will. I'll be back as quick as I can, I promise!" 

Iori heard Digmon's footsteps run away. He didn't know how long he sat there for, hell he didn't know how far he and Digmon had been walking, but surely it couldn't be that far?

"Hey, are you okay down there?" A voice called out. Iori looked up the see a human head peeking over the cliff, the face too far away to make out the features. 

"Oh, hey! Are you another Chosen Child? I fell off that cliff and hurt my leg!" 

"Wait one minute!" He called and disappeared. Iori kept looking at the cliff edge, trying to listen out and hear what the other person was doing. 

A large, thick vine shot out over the cliff, just long enough to reach the recess Iori had landed on. The owner of the face started to climb down the vine, and soon Iori began to realise that this wasn't a child at all. 

The man dropped down in front of Iori. He had long, brown hair, that was tied back in a plait so that his undercut was visible. He was wearing the typical outfit of a hiker - thick mountain boots and cargo shorts, a simple t-shirt and jacket. 

"You're... who are you?"

"I'm a Chosen," The man said, crouching before Iori. "Just like you. You said you hurt your leg? May I see?"

Iori furrowed his eyebrows. "Huh? I know that's there's more Chosen than we know of, but I always assumed Jou-Senpai was the oldest," 

The man cocked his head. "Well? Is it okay for me to look at your leg?" 

After a brief hesitation, Iori nodded. The man carefully lifted up Iori's trouser leg, and took hold of the ankle. 

"Ow ow!" Iori hissed, and the man let go. 

"That's a pretty nasty injury you got there. Definitely twisted your ankle when you fell. Was it just your leg that you hurt?" 

Iori held up his hands, and this time the man hissed. "Put your hands out to stop the fall huh?"

"Well, yeah," Iori said as the man pulled out a bottle of water. "But, my Digimon - he's gone to get my friends, - has a pretty sharp nose," Iori said.

"I see," The man carefully poured water over Iori's hands to wash away the dirt and gravel. 

"Hey, if you're a Chosen, then where's your partner?" 

"He died over two years ago. He never came back either," 

"I'm so sorry," Iori said. He had yet to meet someone whose partner hadn't come back. Both Patamon and Wormmon had come back, and there were a few other kids they had met whose Digimon had died. They all came back. 

"It's okay," The man said. He pulled out a bandage and some anitseptic wipes from his fanny pack. "That's why I'm still out here trying to help other Chosen kids. It's what he would've wanted," 

Iori fell silent as the man tended to his hands. When the man taped down the edge of the bandage, he stood up again. "Whats your name kid?" 

"Iori. Hida Iori," 

"Hida. How long has your Digimon been gone for?" 

"Uh... I don't know. I thought he would have been back by now, though," 

"Hm. Whatever the case, we need to get you off the edge, huh?"

The man turned around and knelt before Iori. "Come on. Up ya get," 

Iori wrapped his arms around the man's shoulders and was hoisted onto his back. 

"Thank you, for helping me," Iori said. 

"Hey, don't worry about it, Hida," The man said, wrapping the vines around him and Iori. "Now, hold on tight, alright?" 

Iori hugged tighter around the man's shoulders, as the man began to climb back up the vine. Iori felt bad for having to put the man through so much trouble, but the pain in his ankle was beginning to get unbearable. He'll just have to find a way to thank the man later. 

They got to the top of the cliff, and the man untied the vines from around his waist. "Doesn't seem to be any sign of a Digimon around," The man began to walk down the hill. "What is your Digimon?"

"Uh... Digmon. He might have devolved though, which is why he's taking so long, so, then it's Armadimon," 

"Huh. I don't think I ever heard of them before," 

"It's a long story," Iori said. 

As the man carried Iori down the hill, he couldn't help but worry over Armadimon. He was frozen, just before Iori fell. Maybe he was sick? Something that only happened to Digimon? There was also the fact that Armadimon was of an ancient species. 

What if he was frozen again? That might explain why he was taking so long... yes, that must be it! 

But that means that there's something wrong with him. 

"Hey, which way?" The man asked. Iori looked up to see they reached the bottom of the hill. Not too far now. 

"Oh, uh, that way-"

"Iori!" Miyako cried, Nefertimon bursting into view with the two girl on her back. "There you are oh my God Armadimon just got here and told us-... oh, hi?" 

"Hey," The man said. "So I'm guessing these are the friends you were telling me about?" 

Iori nodded. 

"Iori, are you okay?" Hikari asked, climbing off Nefertimon's back. 

"I'm okay, this man helped me up off the cliff I fell onto," Iori said. The man hunkered down, allowing Iori to climb onto Nefertimon's back, beside Armadimon. 

"Wow, hey thanks for helping him sir," Miyako said. "But um, who are you?"

The man put his hands on his hips. "Well, I'm a Chosen, just like all of you," 

"Really?" Hikari asked, her voice dripping with disbelief. 

"No its true! Well, I was a lot younger when I was Chosen first, I'll grant you that," The man began to laugh. He looked down at Nefertimon, then up at Shurimon. "I've never seen Digimon like you before. You kids really must be something special, huh?"

"Oh well, that's a long story, you see-" 

"Where's your Digimon?" Hikari interrupted Miyako. "If you're a Chosen, then where's your Digimon?" 

Iori grabbed onto Hikari's sleeves. "Hikari, his Digimon died," 

"And he never came back?"

"Sadly not," The man said, rubbing the back of his head. "Wish I knew why..." 

Hikari wrung her hands together. "Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset," 

"Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known," The man smiled. "Well, I'm glad you guys showed up to look after young Hida here. You're a strong kid, but, you need to go home and look after that leg," 

Iori nodded. "Yes, and thank you for everything! Oh, you can call me Iori by the way," 

The man shifted his weight and rolled his shoulders. "And what about you two? What are your names?"

"My names Miyako, Inoue Miyako, and this is Yagami Hikari," 

"Yagami?" The man asked. Hikari nodded. 

"Whats your name, sir?" 

The man hesitated, then let out a loud, boisterous laugh. "You know, it's been so long since someone asked, that I've forgotten," 

"You've forgotten your own name?" Miyako asked. Iori groaned, and leaned down still his shaking leg. 

"I think we've delayed enough, we should get you home," Nefertimon said, looking back at Iori. Iori nodded with a grimace. 

"Yeah, okay let's go," Hikari said. "Um, thank you for everything mister," 

The man simply nodded in reply, and turned back towards the hill, as the girls turned back towards their camp. After a few moments, Iori remembered something. He looked back towards the man and cupped his hands around his mouth. 

"Hey! I promise I will make it up to you tomorrow sir!" 

The man simply waved in reply. Iori took it to mean gratitude.


End file.
